Post only Wild Cats with the what you think is the "Best Mane"


Rules:
-Images Only
-Color
-Size
-Location where the Cat lives
-Lions and Tigers Only

I know you don't think "mane" when discussing Tigers but I can think of a few individuals who have pretty impressive "tiger manes" 

I'll add some Big Manes tomorrow
 

http://www.cnn.com/videos/travel/2015/03...-teeth.hln
 

@Pckts brought up a very good point on flora of the dinosaur's time period. Everyone's familiar with the essential place of plants in ecology, so let's discuss the flora from the time of the titans, the dinosaurs. 

I don't know much on these eras, so I'll post research and their summaries. Everyone is encouraged to join in.

I'll start with the...

Triassic period (250-200 Mya):
Gymnosperms evolved and dominated during this period, and through the rest of the mesozoic era. Many seed ferns were also present. Dinosaurs were relatively smaller during the triassic, and so was the flora.

Examples of seed ferns were:

Leptocycas - A 1.5 m tall palm tree like plant.
A fossil of the species :



A reconstruction:



Horsetails - These were likely one of the main sources of nutrition for herbivores. They were large, with some species reaching 7 m in height.

Here's an example, Neocalamites:




Glossopteris - Standing 3.6 m tall, this tree-like seed fern found itself well at home on the landmass of Gondwana. 







Large seeds ferns like these likely played a part in the gigantism of the animals at the time, but gymnosperms certainly had a strong effect as well. 

Interestingly, some gymnosperms of the time survive today as living fossils.

One genus is Ginkgo. These may have evolved as early as 270 Mya. Today, the species is native to China, and has been reported to reach heights of over 50 m. With trees of this size, one can see why longnecks would evolve sooner or later. 

The modern form is common and looks like this:


 
Ginkgos are said to remain essentially unchanged from the triassic forms, in a way a mind boggling snapshot of life millions of years ago.

Fossils of ginkgos:












 
My summaries here can only touch on so much. Here are some papers for those who'd like to read deeper on mesozoic flora:

An overview: https://notendur.hi.is/oi/Nemendaritgerd...botany.pdf

Horsetails: http://www.dolomythos.com/download/2011_Sphenophyta.pdf

Gymnosperms: http://paleobotany.bio.ku.edu/taylorPDFs/[2003]%20Klavins%20et%20al.-Gymnosperms%20from%20the%20Middle%20Triassic%20of%20Antarctica.pdf

Ginkgos: http://www.oregon.gov/odf/urbanforests/d...eginko.pdf


 

 

 

Post news articles on modern dinosaur research here.
 

I occasionally think as to why we evolved to be the way we are. Why we strive to constantly gain knowledge and grow as a species.
This thread is for anybody who wants to share their idea as to why we evolved to be "human."

I'll get it started,

I think mankind has evolved as a protector to Mother earth and even the universe. I think that while we destroyed and harmed the earth early on, we are now growing and becoming more global and universally aware of the repercussions and the actions needed to fix our mistakes and make it better. I think we actually needed to make those massive mistakes to learn as much as we have as well as get actual evidence to help us grow. I think we are the earth's "Protector," if you look at the earth as a mother to us all, then maybe she gave us the ability to protect her from lets say (asteroids, global warming, supernovas etc.) All normal things that happen in our universe but cause the "death" of a planet. Maybe if we look at the earth as a supreme being, her goal is to survive. Like a queen ant, she cannot do it alone, she needs "soldiers" who will protect her because it also protects themselves. The true solider doesn't do it for monitory value but rather for the betterment of themselves and their "family and home."
Its just a theory but that is more or less my feeling about the most asked question
"What is our Purpose?"
 
I would love to hear anybody else's hypothesis' or theories as well.

Most websites commonly cited the 9.8 meters individual caught off the coast of Japan as the largest specimen ever recorded.

Does anyone here know its exact weight? And if it is a reliable source?

What is your opinion of Ursus arctos piscator ?  ~~http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bergman%27s_bear  The Bergman's bear (Ursus arctos piscator) is an alleged and probably extinct subspecies of the brown bear that lived in the Kamchatka Peninsula. The bear was identified and named by Swedish zoologist Sten Bergman in 1920.Bergman determined that the bear was a separate subspecies after examining a hide (which had fur very different from other local bears) and series of footprints, measuring 14.5 x 10 inches, which he judged to be much larger than other bears on Kamchatka.Some think that the Cold War may have helped the population to recover because the Soviet Military blocked access to the area in that time.Interest in the bear was revitalized in the 1960s. Hunter Rodion Sivolobov reported claims by Kamchatka natives of an unusually large bear they called either the Irkuiem (roughly meaning "trousers pulled down" due to the appearance of the bear's hind legs), or the "God bear" due to its large size.Based on Sivobolov's description, biologist N.K. Vereshchagin suggested that the God bear might be a relict Arctodus simus, a massive extinct bear. This idea was coolly received by the scientific community; Arctodus has never been found outside the Americas, and more importantly, it belonged to the Tremarctinae which differ considerably in appearance from the "typical" bears (Ursinae). In particular, Arctodus had relatively long and slender legs which does not agree with the "trousers pulled down" moniker.

Hi there, I've been making videos at my local reserve since the start of the year and I'm trying to create a record of the year through capturing and editing video footage. I'd be very happy to show you what I've managed to shoot so far, please take a look at my 4 latest videos and tell me what you think, there are plenty more videos on my vimeo if you want more: 

Woodland Spirits 

Water Birds of Brockholes

Wildlife Tracker - 11/02/15

Wildlife Tracker - 05/02/15
 
Enjoy,

Andre Bisson.

So I heard this particular subspecies of Elephas Maximus is huge, perhaps rival the largest African Elephant.

Does anyone have more info about the giant Asian Elephant?

I think they are pretty underrated in most of cases.

post pictures of impressive female cats!